Requests for additional data

As Prof. Mcloughlin mentioned in a previous lecture, often in scientific manuscripts, one of the reviewers is a methodologist or a specialist who understands the data inputs in your area of research. It is not uncommon for such reviewers to request authors to provide additional data or undertake different statistical analyses to support their primary arguments. Here, Prof. Mcloughlin shares some advice on how you should approach such requests.

Quick recap

Here are the top three tips Prof. Mcloughlin shared in this video:

  • Don’t dismiss requests for additional data; consider them as inputs that might add value to your research
  • Include details of additional data in your resubmission letter
  • Remember to thank the reviewers

Author FAQs

Here’s what an author asked us about dealing with requests for additional data.

I submitted one paper to a journal a few months ago. Now I have received the second round of reviewer comments. One reviewer said, "It could be informative to add some stainings of integrin signaling like P-FAK or P-Src and/or TGFb signaling (P-Smad)" Should I add more experiments? My paper topic is about the relationship between one molecular and tissue hardness. It's nothing to do with integrin signaling. If I add some stainings, it means I need to revise paper extensively. Do you think I should conduct the experiment and add in the paper? Is there any other way to respond to the reviewer?

It’d be interesting to know how you would have advised this author. You can also check our response here.

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